1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention relates to a mechanism for establishing a wireless communication environment in which a wireless mesh network and a wireless local area network (LAN) are structured in a single plane.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional wireless communication environment.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional wireless communication environment includes a wireless mesh network 1 and a wireless local area network (LAN) 2.
The wireless mesh network 1 includes mobile nodes, which are referred to as wireless mesh points or, in short, as mesh points. These mesh points are connected wirelessly to communicate with one another. The wireless LAN 2 includes mobile stations that form basic service sets (BSSs).
According to the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard, a BSS refers to a set of mobile stations in an area where they can communicate with one another. Due to the uncertainty of transmission distances of signals output from mobile stations, a BSS does not indicate a specific area. In addition, a set of BSSs is referred to as an extended service set (ESS).
According to the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard, a static node for coordinating a BSS is called an access point (AP). When an AP receives a wireless LAN frame from a mobile station located in a BSS coordinated by the AP, the AP transmits the received wireless LAN frame to a destination mobile station if the destination mobile station is located in the BSS coordinated by the AP. However, if the destination mobile station is located in another BSS that is not coordinated by the AP, the AP transmits the received wireless LAN frame to another AP so that the received wireless LAN frame arrives at the destination mobile station. To this end, APs are connected in a wired manner.
However, the conventional wireless communication environment illustrated in FIG. 1 in which the wireless mesh network 1 and the wireless LAN 2 are structured in different planes does not constitute a wireless communication environment in which the wireless mesh network 1 and the wireless LAN 2 are structured in a single plane and communicate with each other. As a result, the conventional wireless communication environment illustrated in FIG. 1 does not provide a mechanism for establishing a wireless communication environment in which a wireless mesh network 1 and the wireless LAN 2 are structured in a single plane and communicate with each other.